Latching mechanism for hopper doors of railway hopper type cars



Aug.'12, 1952 G. B. DOREY LATCHING MECHANISM FOR HOPPER DOORS OF RAILWAY HOPPER TYPE CARS 4 SheetsSheec 1 Filed Nov. 19', 1949 INVENTOR. fie'o ge 5 Dorqy,

Aug, 12, 1952 2,606,507

G. B. DOREY LATCHING MECHANISM FOR HOPPER DOORS OF RAILWAY HOPPER TYPE CARS Filed Nov. 19, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. \Q

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Aug. 12, 1952 G. B. DOREY LATCHING MECHANISM FOR HOPPER DOORS OF RAILWAY HOPPER TYPE CARS I :II III Illlll ll ||||||Il|| rllllllll 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 n 5 9 g I, g g

Filed Nov. 19, I949 T Mm NQM @MTQ.

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LATCHING MECHANISM FOR HOPPER DOORS OF RAILWAY HOPPER TYPE CARS iled Nov. 19, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 12, 1952 LATCHING MECHANISM FOR HOPPER DOORS OF RAILWAY HOPPER TYPE CARS] George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 19, 1949, Serial No. 128,388

8 Claims.

This invention relates toan improved latching bar mechanism for the door ofa hopper such as employed in railway dump cars. I

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide'a latching mechanism which will in one continuous motion first wedge one side of a door to closed position independently of the opposite side and thereafter permit of continued movement of the latch bar to latch the opposite side of the door in closed position; to provide a construction for a latch bar mechanism which will permit of safe operation by a removable bar disposed in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of thedoor; to co-ordinate the latch mechanism with suitable reinforcing means; and to provide suitable pocket means for receiving and temporarily holding a removable door lifting handle.

This invention is by way of an improvement over the construction shown in United States Patent No. 1,886,788 granted November 8, 1932, to Argyle Campbell. In thisxpatent there is shown an oscillatable latch bar piv'otall y mounted on the door to' provide oppositely extending arms arranged to engage simultaneously iwith flared portions of shouldered keepers lying at the respective sides of the door in order to provide for simultaneously wedging the respective sides of the door to closed position; One of the main features of the present invention resides in a construction whereby the inner side of the door or that side of the door remote from the operator is wedged to fully closed position independently of the companion keeper at the opposite side of the door. This invention further resides in a construction whereby the door is retained in partly closed position and wedged to fully closed position in such a manner that force applied on the latch bar will reactto provide a downward pull on the door until such time as the inner side of the door has been wedged to closed position and thus operate to swing the door towards closed position by movement of the latch.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of this invention reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view; infrontelevation, of the door of a hopperfor a hopper type car in which the present invention is embodied, the door being shown in pendant open position over the hopper opening with the hopper being shown" between the center Isilland side wall of a conventional type Of railway car;

Figure 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the door and hopper construction shown, in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line 33 of Figure 1 but showing the door in the partly closed position;

Figure 4 is a view, in front elevation, of the door in the closed position with the latch bar in the latched position;

Figure 5 is a view, similar to that shown in Figure 4, but showing the door'inthe partly closed position and the latch bar in its preliminary latching position;

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken, gen erally, along the line 6-6 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a view, in side elevation, of the door and hopper opening, the door being shown in the closed position; and

Figures 8, 9, and 10 are detail sectional views taken, generally, along the lines 8-8, 8-9, and l0| 0, respectively, of Figure 4.

The invention is shown as applied to a so-called W type of hopper and to a door on one side of the center sill. The reference character I0 designates a center sill of a conventional railway car having a side wall ll spaced therefrom with a hopper l2 therebetween.

The hopper i2 is formedby side walls l3 and M, a top wall l5, and a floor I6'which slopes downwardly to an opening". Surrounding the opening I! is a frame that is indicated, generally, at 20. It comprises a lower portion including sides 2| and 22 which overlie the respective walls and a transversely extending wall 24 which underlies the sloping floor IS. The upper part of the frame includes a top beam member 25 from which hinge butts 26 project. Adjacent the hopper side wall [3 the frame is formed with a triangular shaped fioor section 21, Figure 1, which lies adjacent the outer side of the opening I I and serves to bridge the space intermediate the sloping side wall I3 of" the hopper IZand the outer side of the frame 20. I

The hinge butts26 carry hing pins 28 which support hinge straps 29 at their upper ends. The hinge straps 29 are secured by rivets 30 to the door which is indicated, generally, at'3l. "The door 3! is preferably of rectangular form and of pan shape and it has a flange 32 around its edge which fits over and encloses the four sides of the frame so as to provide a tight opening.

The hinge straps .29 are deflected outwardly downwardly as indicated at 33 to dispose the lower parts thereof adjacent the ends of a reinforcing marginal beam 34. the latter extending discharge opening through the adjacent to the swingin edge of the door. The respective straps 29-29 are preferably welded to the door beam 34 as at 35 to provide continuity of reinforcement.

The door 3| is of the type which is adapted to be swung or lifted to closed position and latching mechanism is employed to retain it in closed position. The latching mechanism includes shouldered keepers respectively designated by numerals 36 and 31 with which a pivoted oscillatable bar 38 is adapted to engage to latch the door 3| in closed position. The bar 38 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a pivot 39 carried by a bracket 40, Figure 6. The pivot 39 is disposed on the door 3| to provide one end of the bar 38 to be of greater length and weight than the other, the longer end being indicated at 4| and the shorter end at 42, with the longer end 4| being preferably the outer end or operating end of the bar 38 which is adjacent the side wall ll of the car and the shorter arm 42 being adjacent the inner hopper side wall of the car.

. The difference in weight between the respective The keeper 31 is provided with a secondary shoulder or ledge 46, FigurelO, which is disposed in advance of and to the rear of the main shoulder 44 and connected therewith by an inclined wedging surface 41 whereby as the door 3| is moved to closed position the arm 42 engages with the secondary shoulder 46 and thereby is retained in partly closed position. The door 3| is wedged from partly closed to fully closed position by movement of the bar 38 as it rides in contact with and along the wedgingsurface 41. 7

An important feature of this invention is the attainment of complete closure for the inner side of the door 3| before engagement is effected between, the long arm 4| ofthe bar 38 and the outer keeper 35. To this end the lengths of the arms4| and42 are proportioned and the keepers 36 and 31 so disposed in relation thereto as to permit the short arm 42 to swing upwardly from the secondary shoulder 46 to engage with the main shoulder 44 before engaging contact is established between the long arm 4| and the shoulder 43 of keeper 36. By limiting the wedging closing action to the upwardly movable short arm 42 at the inner end of the door 3|, the closing operation of the door is greatly facilitated inasmuch as the latching bar 38 is mounted on the door 3| in a plane outwardly of .its hinge axis, and the exertion of a downward force on the pivot 39 of the bar 38 outwardly of the hinge axis of the door 3| has the efiect of exerting a turning moment to swing it to closed position. The length of the moment arm between the hinge axis of the door 3| and the point of application of closing force to the bar 38 is indicated at M in Figure '7. Inasmuch as the door closing operation is effected from a location at the outer side of the door 3| there is a tendency for the inner side to lag slightly and consequently it is advantageous to force the inner side of the door The bar 38 is displaced 3| to fully closed position, as described, independently of the outer side.

The latch bar 38 bears against the hinge straps 29 which constitute rub plates therefor and outward movement thereof is prevented by overlying guide plates indicated generally at 48 and 49, respectively, Figures 8 and 9. These plates are spaced from the body of the door 3| by integrally formed thimbles as shown at 50 and 5|. Guide plate 48 also serves to support and guide a looking dog 52 which is adapted to lock the bar 38 in latching position.

The plate 48 is formed with outwardly extending fulcrum projections 53 for receiving a removable operating bar in cooperation with an outstanding fulcrum 54 on the long arm 4| of the latch bar 38.

The door reinforcing beam 34 is preferably in the form of a 2 bar disposed with the web 55 normal to the plane of the door 3| and having its outer flange 56 extending away from the hinge axis of the door 3| spaced outwardly from its front surface.

An open ended pocket 51 is disposed in the angle formed by the web 55 and outstanding flange 55 of the Z-shaped reinforcing beam for the purpose of accommodating the end of a removable lifting handle. The .pocket 51, Figure 2, is formed by welding a plate 58 as at 59 and 60 to the 2 bar reinforcement.

The operation of the latching mechanism is as follows: assuming the door 3| to be in open position and the locking dog 52 in the position shown in Figure 1, the operator inserts a removable bar in the, pocket 51 and lifts the door 3| towards closed position, the body of the bar being retained between the flange 56 of the beam and the outer surface of the door 3 I. Upon continued movement of the door 3| the short arm 42 is displaced downwardly by contact with the beveled runway surface 45 of the keeper 31 until such time as the end 42 engages with the secondary shoulder 46 as shown in Figures 3 and 5. The operator thenibears down on the long end 4| of the latch bans to force the arm 42 along the inclined surface 41 to register with the main shoulder 44 i'n-the position shown in Figures 4 and 7. Should resistance to the movement of the latch bar 38- be encountered, as when the door 3| is warped, the operator may insert a bar 6| between ruler-urns 53 and54. formed on the guide plate '48iand latch bar'38 respectively to obtain increased leverage. The locking dog 52 then is swung to the position shown-in Figures 4 and 7.

Since certain changes canbe made in the foregoing construction and different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter shown-in the accompanying drawings and described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

-1. A latching mechanism for the door of a hopper of a railway car hinged along its upper edge and adapted to assume'a pendant open p0 sition comprising, in combination, means for latching said door at each side thereof including a latch bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel with the plane thereof and shouldered 'keeperscarried by the sides of said hopper and cooperable with the respective oppositely disposed arms of said bar, one of said arms being biased to move upwardly towards the hinge axis of said door-,1 said, biased. arm and its related keeper having .Zstepped engagement to maintain said door ineither partly-or fully closed position and there being a wedging inclined surface connecting the respective steps whereby movement of said door from one position to the other is eifected by movement of said biased arm, said arms and their related keepers being arranged and constructed so that the transition of said biased arm from one step to the other is effected before contact is establishedbetween the opposite arm of said latch bar and its related keeper,

2. A latching mechanism for the .doorof a' hopper of a railway car-hinged along its upper edge and adapted to assume a pendant open-position comprising, in combination, means for latching-said dooratv each side thereofincluding a latch'bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel.v with the plane thereof 'and shouldered keepers carried by the sides of said hopper. and cooperable with the respective oppositely disposed arms of said bar, one of said arms being relatively short and the other being relatively longwhereby the former is biased to move upwardly by the'latter toward the hinge axis of said door, said short arm and its related keeper having stepped engagement to maintain said door in either partly or fully closed position and there being a wedging inclined surface connecting the respective steps whereby movement of said door from partly to fully closed position is effected by movement of said short arm, said short and long arms and their related keepers being arranged and constructed so that the transition of said short arm from one step to the other takes place before there is any operative engagement between said long arm of said latch barand'its related keeper. T

3. A latching mechanism' for a pivotally mounted hopper car door comprising, in combination, a latch bar pivotally mounted on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel to the plane thereof, said bar being pivoted intermediate its ends to provide oppositely extending arms projecting beyond each side edge of said door, shouldered keepers having locking shoulders cooperable with the projecting ends of said bar for maintaining the door in fully closed position, one of said keepers having a secondary locking shoulder stepped from the main shoulder for retaining said door in partly closed position, and an inclined wedging surface extending between said stepped shoulders whereby closing movement of said door is eifected by movement of one of said arms along said wedging surface, said one arm and its related keeper being arranged and constructed with respect to the opposite arm and its related keeper so as to move from said secondary to said main shoulder before engagement between the opposite arm and companion keeper is effected.

4. A latching mechanism for a pivotally mounted hopper car door of the type adapted to assume a substantially vertical position when open comprising, in combination, a latch bar pivotally mounted on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel with the main plane thereof, said bar being pivoted intermediate its ends to provide oppositely extending arms projecting outwardly beyond the side edges of said door, one of said arms being weighted to bias the opposite arm in an upward direction towards the hinge axis of said door, and a shouldered keeper at each side of said door for engagement. with said bar, the shouldered keeper adjacent the upwardlyiimovable arm having stepped shoulders for retaining said door in partly open and in.=fu1ly=closed-positionand an inclined wedging', surfacev connecting said respective'stepped shoulders whereby said door maybe wedged to closed position by movement ofsaid opposite arm along the stepped surfaces, said arms and their related keepers. being arranged and constructed so that the transition of said opposite arm'from one step to the other is efiected before contact is established between said stantially parallel. with the planethereof and shouldered keeperscarried -bvthe sides of said hopper and cooperable with the respective oppositely disposedarms of said bar, one. of. said arms being biased to move upwardly towards the hinge axis of said door, said biased arm and, its related keeper having stepped engagement to maintain said door in either partly or fully closed position and .therebeinga wedging inclined surface connecting the. respective steps whereby movementoifv said door from one position .to the other is effected by movementof. saidbiasedzarm, the step secondarily; engaged by saidbiased-arm being positioned with respect to the shoulderon the keeper for the. opposite :arm so that. the transitionof said biased arm from one step to theother iseffected and the corresponding side of the door iswedged closed before there is any contact established betweenv the opposite arm of said latch bar and .the shoulder ofits related keeper. 1

. 6.; A latching mechanism for the door of a hopper of a railway car hinged along its upper edge and adapted to assume a pendant open position comprising, in combination, means for latching-said door 'at each sidethereof including alatch bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel with the plane thereof and shouldered keepers carried by the sides of said hopper and cooperable with the respective oppositely disposed arms of said bar, one of said arms being biased to move upwardly towards the hinge axis of said door, said biased arm and its related keeper having stepped engagement to maintain said door in either partly or fully closed position and there being a wedging inclined surface connecting the respective steps whereby movement of said door from one position to the other is eiiected by movement of said biased arm, the step secondarily engaged by said biased arm being positioned with respect to the shoulder on the keeper for the opposite arm so that the transition or said biased arm from one step to the other is effected and the corresponding side of the door is wedged closed before there is any contact established between the opposite arm of said latch bar and the shoulder of its related keeper, and fulcrum means on said door and opposite arm of said latch bar located in a plane spaced from the hinge axis of said door so that a bar positioned therebetween and having a force applied downwardly to the projecting end applies a torque to said door in a direction to close the same while said biased arm is being moved to said tep secondarily engaged and prior to engagement-between said "opposite arm and said shoulder of its related keeper.

7. A latching f mechanism for the door of a hopperof a railway car hinged along its upper edge and adapted to assume a pendant open position comprising, in combination, means for latching said door at each side thereof including a latch bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said 'd'oorto oscillate in a plane substansaid door. said short'arm and its related keeper having stepped engagement to maintain said door ineitherpartly'or fully closed position and there being a wedgin'g inclined surf-ace connecting therespective steps whereby movement of said door from partly to. fully closed position is effected by movement of said short arm, the step secondarily engaged by said short arm being coextensive for a portion of its length with the shoulder of the keeper engaged by said long arm and the lengths or said arms being related so that thetransition ofsaid short arm from one step to the other takes place and the corresponding side of the dooris wedged closed before there is any operative'engagement between said long armof said latch-bar .and theshoulder of its related keeper.

8.=Alatchitng mechanism for the door of a hopper of a railway car hinged along its upper edge and adapted to assume a pendant open position comprising, in combination, means for latching said'do'or at each side thereof including a latch bar pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said door to oscillate in a plane substantially parallel with the plane thereof and shouldered keepers carried by the sides of said hop er. and cooperable with the respective' oppositely disposed arms of said bar, one ofs'aid arms being relatively short and the other being relatively long whereby the former T ls'blased to move upwardly by the latter toward the hinge axis of said door, said short arm and its related keeper having stepped engagement to maintain said door in either partly or fully closed position and there being a wedging inclined surface connecting the respective steps whereby movement of said door from partly to fully closed position is effected by movement of said short arm, the step secondarily engaged by said short arm being coextensive for a portion of its length with the shoulder of the keeper engaged by said long arm and the lengths of said arms being related so that the transition of said short arm from one step to the other takes place and the corresponding side of the door is wedged closed before there is, any operative engagement between said long arm of said latch bar and the shoulder of its related keeper, and fulcrum means on said door and said long arm located in a plane spaced from the hinge axis of said door so that a bar positioned therebetween and having a force applied downwardly to the projecting end applies a torque to said door in a direction to close the same while said short arm is being moved to said step secondarily engaged and prior to engagement between said long arm and said shoulder of its related keeper.

' GEORGE B. DOREY.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,620,023 Hosceit Mar. 8, 1927 1,733,736 Kadel' Oct. 29, 1929 1,774,870 Campbell Sept. 2, 1930 1,886,788 Campbell Nov. 8, 1932 1,949,633 Shafer Mar. 6, 1934 2,030,240 Campbell Feb. 11, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,440 Great Britain Jan. 13, 1916 of 1915 

